Compromised Cowgirl (25 page)

Henry said the reason he had eight older siblings was his parents loved each other so much. Ace didn’t visit Henry often because of the constant uproar of his five sisters and three brothers, but the Baron and Baroness often touched each other. Nothing more than her hand on his shoulder, or a quick pat on her bottom and a wink as the Baron passed. Looks that promised what they’d be doing soon after dinner. Henry would gag and roll his eyes, but it made Ace wonder what he’d missed.

Now he knew.

Did he love Jessie? He gave a mental shrug. It didn’t matter. They would marry no matter what. And Jessie had to obey him, or they’d never be able to live in Tanner’s Ford. He enjoyed how Beth and Amelia laughed and bantered at home, but their husbands would never tolerate it in town. Trace would never have to beat Beth because she would always treat him with respect in town.

To have a wife openly speak against him, especially on the main street in town, meant Ace would have to beat Jessie. That’s what the men did on his brother’s estate when their wives even thought of speaking back. It sickened him. The men often watched, some calling out encouragement, but the women turned away. Once a man lost that respect, he had to move away. No one would speak with him or do business. His wife would be shunned, his children ridiculed.

This was why he insisted Jessie behave like a proper wife—he could never lift his hand to her. If she sassed him, and he didn’t put her in her place, they could not stay and be accepted. But he couldn’t leave Tanner’s Ford and start again elsewhere.

Jessie was smart. She would understand when he explained it to her.

Ace quietly closed the door on the snoring sheriff and stepped onto the boardwalk. Jessie would be home by now, likely scrubbing tack. He noticed she did that when upset.

A wagon rolled past with Trace at the reins. Ace returned the genuine smile that Beth shone on him. They stopped in front of the mercantile. He followed, wanting to check his credit at the store. The wedding would cost a bit, but the Double Diamond would pay.

Ace watched, feet slowing, as Trace lifted Beth down. He did it by inches, her body rubbing against his all the way. Ace imagined doing the same to Jessie, making sure she felt every inch of him. Even better if they were naked. He would catch her pussy with his cock on the way past. He stopped walking as he fought his rising reaction.

The couple stared at each other as if nothing else existed. When her feet touched the boardwalk Trace leaned in for a kiss. Beth returned it, just as deep and thorough. When they broke apart, both were breathing hard. So was Ace.

“Patsy might have that lamp that I want,” said Beth. She fluttered her eyes at Trace.

He stuck his fists on his hips and shook his head. “I said no, wife.”

“I want it, husband, and I’m going to get it.” She stuck her finger into his chest.

“You’ll get it, all right.” He caught her hand and held it.

Ace’s mouth went dry as he waited for Trace to put Beth in her place. He never thought Trace would hurt Beth, yet she’d done something inexcusable. But Beth yanked her hand back, jammed her own fists on her hips, and glared back at him. Ace watched in silence and confusion.

“Three days without clothes,” growled Trace, staring down at Beth.

“Three!” She gasped. “How dare you suggest such a thing!” She pouted, narrowing her eyes and glaring back.

They stood like that for a few moments, neither giving ground. Ace noticed that many others also watched the exchange. Most of them, men and women alike, seemed amused rather than upset.

“One day, and no outside bathing!” She spat the words at him.

Instead of lifting his fist to her, Trace relaxed and leaned a shoulder against the wagon. He looked at her from toes to bonnet as if considering every inch of what was under her dress. A smile played around his mouth. Beth bristled at his nonchalant attitude.

“Two days, apple fritters, and an outdoors session,” he demanded.

She crossed her arms, lifting her breasts in the process. Trace didn’t miss the obvious ploy, seeming even more amused. She cupped her rounding belly, rubbing it gently. She tilted her head and fluttered her eyes at her husband again.

“One day, apple fritters, and no outdoors,” she replied.

“Two days, apple fritters, and a spanking,” he said quietly. “Take it or leave it, wife.”

Beth’s color was high, and she opened her mouth to breathe. The day was warming up, but Ace didn’t think the beads of perspiration on her upper lip were all due to the heat surrounding them.

“I’ll take it, husband,” she replied demurely.

They stared at each other for another minute with silent messages sent and received. When Trace winked she turned, hips swaying, and sauntered toward the mercantile. She winked at Ace as she passed, a wide, satisfied smile on her face.

Ace was close enough to the store to hear her delighted laugh as the door closed. Shaking his head, he walked over to Trace, who looked at the closed door with a bemused expression.

“What was that about?”

Trace turned to him, smiling. “That’s how a husband keeps his wife in line. We both get what we want.”

“But, everyone heard her talk back. Doesn’t that make everyone in town lose respect for you?”

Trace started to laugh until he realized Ace was serious. “We have got to talk.” He tilted his head. “I’ll buy you a drink and give you a few secrets of married life. If you’re marrying my sister, you’ll need to know a few things.”

* * * *

Trace lifted his glass of beer. “To a happy wife, which means a happy life.”

He watched Ace consider the toast for a moment before almost reluctantly lifting his glass. He waited until Ace’s shoulders relaxed a bit before continuing. Baldy’s Saloon was fairly quiet this early in the day. In the corner a greenhorn was losing his gold dust playing faro with Nate Potts and a couple of his cronies. Nate hadn’t looked up, but Trace knew the man was aware of everything in the room. So was Trace.

Ace stared at his beer for a moment then took a gulp. He held the glass for a moment before setting it down. “Jessie’s your sister. How do I make her happy without losing everything?”

“You want her happy?”

“Hell yes!” Ace finished his glass of beer and slammed it down on the table. “I did not want a wife until we had more money, but it’s too late for that. Jessie will just have to wait a few years before I can buy her pretty things. That means she won’t be happy. Unhappy women make life miserable for the men around them. I’ll be grateful if you can tell me how to change that.”

“Jessie doesn’t care about pretty things. Just keep doing the same as when you thought she was a boy.”

“But she’ll be my wife, not a hired hand.”

“So?” Trace frowned. “All she ever wanted was to be a cowboy, riding Nightwind. If she gets enjoyment from sharing your bed, all the better.”

Ace leaned forward. “A proper wife doesn’t dress like a man and ride a horse. She behaves with decorum, meeting the needs of her husband and family.”

Trace snorted into his beer. “I suppose you also expect Jessie to be obedient. You want her to lie down with her legs spread and eyes closed, thinking of Mother England while she does her wifely duty each night.”

Ace flushed. “A wife should be obedient, yes. I’d hoped she’d keep some of the passion we shared, though.”

Trace thought of what he and Beth just acted out on the main street. Beth had plenty of passion, but he had to keep stirring her to keep it going. Neither of them gave a damn what the townsfolk thought of them. Maybe that was the problem. Ace cared too much about what others thought. He leaned forward.

“How the hell can a woman show passion at night if her husband stomps it out of her during the day?” He shook his head. “I don’t know who the hell put those ideas in your head about having a ‘proper’ wife, but a woman like that won’t survive out here. If you care how others judge you and want an obedient little nothing for a wife, then hand Jessie over to your partners and take your sorry ass back home.”

“A man has to have respect, or he’s not a man.”

“Damn right!” Trace banged his empty glass on the table. “But first he has to respect himself and his family. Who cares what strangers think?”

“My father is an Earl. I was taught one has to be held in respect.”

“Nobody cares if your father is the king of
England
!” Trace dropped his voice and sighed. “Any respect you get out here, you earn. I paid my dues and then some.” He rubbed his neck, the scars covered by the handkerchief he always wore in town. “I’m proud of my son’s grandmother even though she runs the finest whorehouse east of the
Missouri
. I’m proud my wife’s belly is swelling with my brother’s child. I don’t give a shit what anyone else thinks about it.”

Ace just blinked, but Trace thought he might be taking in at least some of it.

“Jessie loves the land. Since our parents died, she’s not had a home. She planned to live with Ranger on the Bitterroot, but he thought you and your partners would be better for her. We respect you for turning your back on futility and coming here. You beat that bastard Smythe at his own game and won your ranch. Ranger said he’s never seen Jessie so happy as when she was riding the Double D range all day. Was he wrong?”

Ace inhaled and looked away. “Where I come from men beat their wives if they don’t obey. If they don’t keep them in line, the other men refuse to speak with them or do business. I thought if I made her show me respect, I wouldn’t have to hurt her. I don’t ever want to hurt her.”

“Damn good thing because we’d stomp you into the ground.”

“That was made obvious the other night,” said Ace dryly. He rolled the empty beer glass in his hands as he thought. Trace let the silence grow.

“You saw Beth and me negotiating over that lamp?”

Ace nodded. He looked away, as if hiding something.

“I don’t give a shit whether she wants the lamp or not. We have the money, and she knows she can have anything she damned well wants.” He waited until Ace nodded understanding. “What she really wants is for me to prove, in public, that I want her. She knows I do, but thinking she’s making other women jealous, makes her horny. And making her horny makes me very happy.” Trace smiled like a wolf. “So does knowing that damn near every man wishes he’d stood up to Big Joe and married her, instead of me having her.”

“You really make her walk around naked as punishment for mouthing back at you? That doesn’t sound like much.”

Trace leaned back in his chair. His smile widened.

“Part of Beth’s punishment is never knowing what’s going to happen, or when. I choose the days she goes naked. Maybe someone shows up for a visit while I’ve got her on her back on the kitchen table. She knows I won’t stop until I’m damn good and ready. And she’s noisy when she comes.”

Ace loosened his shirt collar and shifted in his chair.

“I might tell her to join me for a ride into the woods. She’ll face me with her ass bare to the world, riding my cock.” He leaned forward. “Sometimes I pretend to see someone in the distance. I wave and call out. She squawks like crazy!”

Ace licked his lips. “What you call punishment makes her hot for you.”

Trace nodded. “The rule is, when she’s naked like that, any of us can take her anywhere, anyhow. I make sure to remind Simon and Jack at breakfast that she’s ready to provide dessert any time they like. And that spanking?”

Ace sat up. Trace smiled to himself. Wanting to put your hand on your woman’s ass must be something they all shared.

“If I want to, Beth will get it in town, right in the wagon.”

“You wouldn’t spank her in public!”

“Not likely, but she doesn’t know that, not for sure.” Trace tilted his head toward the street. “Gillis did it to his wife, Prudence, one day. She was Amelia’s older sister, may she rest in peace.” Trace chuckled. “Luckily, she wore drawers because he hiked up her skirts and paddled her right in front of the hotel.”

“What did she do?”

“Screeched like the sky was falling. Of course, that just brought a bigger audience. Sophie said it emptied the dining room in no time flat. Gil said he did it again as soon as they got on MD land. Prue was so wet she came twice before he put his cock in her.”

Trace smiled, remembering the first time he took Beth on Rocking E Ranch. The morning after their wedding and Beth was eager to learn. They both had a good idea that one of his brothers watched with a spyglass. Turned out it was Simon. Trace shook out his leg and shifted himself, taking advantage of the table to hide his need.

“I haven’t had a chance to paddle Jessie,” said Ace. “I don’t think she’d put up with it right now.”

“Men like us need women who are strong and passionate. If you try to turn Jessie into what you call a proper wife, you’ll kill her, day by day. Unless you act like a man she can respect, she won’t put up with you. And neither will we.”

He stood up, Ace a second behind.

“Thank you,” said Ace. He held out his hand. “You’ve given me a lot to think about.”

Trace shook, each of them pressing hard. “Think fast or lose her,” he said.

“Any chance someone can bring Nightwind to the Double Diamond today? I don’t want Jessie to think she can’t have her horse unless she takes me as well.”